Arsenal’s two-decade absence atop the Premier League has ended, giving one of the world’s biggest and richest clubs the title it had long sought but narrowly missed for years.
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For the first time since 2003-04, the North London club has won the top division of English football that is widely considered the world’s best domestic league.
The clincher came Tuesday when Manchester City, the only club left with a chance of catching Arsenal, drew 1-1 to Bournemouth. Though City scored a tying goal late in stoppage time, it could not produce a winner in the final three minutes to play afterward. Only a win by Manchester City would have kept its title hope alive.
With the Premier League title in hand, Arsenal now has the opportunity to end an even longer drought — earning the distinction as Europe’s top club. Arsenal has never won the Champions League, but will play for that title on May 30 against defending champion Paris Saint-Germain.
Following the Premier League’s formation in 1992, Arsenal was a perennial title contender while winning the league in 1997-98, 2001-02 and 2003-04 under manager Arsene Wenger.
Ever since, however, it had frequently and agonizingly fallen short. Its teams in 2007-08, 2013-14 and 2022-23 all stood in first place for long stretches of the season, only for late collapses to allow the title to slip away. Since Arsenal’s last title season, the league’s power center remained in Manchester, where either of the city’s clubs, United or City, combined to win 13 of the next 21 titles.
Arsenal finished second in second in 2020-21 and each of the last three seasons, all under coach Mikel Arteta. The 2022-23 title was decided by just five points, and in 2023-24 by just two, which added pressure to this year’s campaign.
By Jan. 3, Arsenal stood in first place by six points. After just two wins and four draws in its next seven matches, however, it allowed Manchester City to retain a shot at yet another title, while drawing questions about whether Arsenal had the nerve to close out a championship. After a 2-1 loss to Manchester City on April 19, its lead was down to just three points.
By winning each of its next four matches, however — including three by narrow, 1-0 margins — Arsenal rebuilt its lead to force Manchester City to play catch-up. When it could not, Arsenal cliched the title that had been elusive for 20 years.